Building Long-Term Relationships with Influencers

Consider your long-term goals for influencers

Advertisers, it’s time to seriously consider how you invest in hiring influencers. An influencer is not an employee of your company, you don’t have them on your payroll, and you don’t have to worry about benefits or tax withholdings. This makes it much easier for you to manage your relationships or terminate when necessary. However, there should be more to your hiring strategy than simply accepting or rejecting random bids as they come in. Your number one goal when hiring an influencer should be building a long-term relationship, even if it comes with a higher price tag.

Influencers typically work as contractors, which offers several benefits. You can hire multiple influencers without worrying about long term commitments. If some are not a good fit, you can simply choose not to work with them again. You can also scale resources according to your needs. This can involve cutting back on your influencer budget temporarily, or re-hiring as necessary. On the flip side, the influencer is not engaging in a long term commitment to work with your brand either. A successful influencer may be a desirable partner for multiple brands and can afford to be choosy with who they work with, or have (justifiably) higher demands for compensation.

Treat influencers like partners

You can still gain loyalty from someone who is not an employee, if you leverage appropriately. There is a decision though: spend comparatively more for an aggressive hustler, or stick with low bids? A small budget may feel less risky, but your expectations should remain minimal. If the influencer is a hardworking enterpriser ready to passionately share your brand and values, consider allotting more in your budget to ensure fair compensation. Also, consider asking influencers to commit to a series of posts spread over weeks or months. This provides more lasting attention compared to a one-time post.

Why should you worry about long-term relationships at this point? Remember, it is mutually beneficial for influencers and advertisers to have a stable relationship. The more an influencer works with you, the better educated they become about your products. This takes time. If you want a one-time sponsored post and expect it to be completed in a week, the influencer cannot get to know your product thoroughly. Educate them about your product so they can share this with their followers. How is your product made? What sets it apart from similar items? What are your values as a company? Encourage influencers to try different products, or to come up with innovative ways to use your goods. Sharing this information over time builds trust from the audience, and (as we emphasize often) the repetition will garner more interest than a one-time post.

Invest in high-quality resources

Keep in mind it WILL cost more up front to build a lasting relationship with a quality influencer who is highly educated about your products. You can mass-hire low budget influencers, or add up the amount you would pay them and hire one really great influencer. The choice is up to you — but before spending the money, think about what you’re investing in. It sounds cliche, but when hiring influencers, you get what you pay for!

So — while contractors do have flexibility and are not permanently committed, you do want to offer competitive benefits. This ensures the great ones will stay by your side. A long-term relationship with an influencer, who has in turn built a long-term relationship with members of their audience, provides you with lasting rewards.

Working with a platform such as Fresh Press Media removes many “cons” of working with contractors. Fresh Press Media handles taxes and payments, so you can enjoy the benefits of your influencer relationships without worrying about the IRS. Take the time we save you and invest it in building quality partnerships.

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